It is very commonplace for modern transit vehicles to incorporate wheelchair-friendly seating arrangements. For example, most transit vehicles utilize at least some side-facing seating to increase the aisle-width, whereby the side-facing seating is arranged so that the back of the seated passenger is against a side wall. Generally, the side facing seating is located near the front of the bus. In this way, the width of the aisle is much greater near the front (or the entrance) of the bus to allow wheelchair passengers to easily navigate down the aisle. Usually, the side-facing seating areas incorporate fold-up seats so that the side-facing seating area can easily be converted from a seating or standing area to a wheelchair securement area.
Most transit vehicles which have both forward facing and side facing seating usually include barriers or the like to separate the forward facing seating areas from the side facing seating areas. These barriers are generally vertical panels which are secured to either the floor or the sidewall of the bus. Often times, these barriers are “drop-in” systems which are pre-configured to include wheelchair restraints. As such, the drop-in barriers simplify installation of wheelchair restraints for transit vehicle manufacturers. One example of such a barrier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,575,677 (“Craft”). Craft discloses a wheelchair restraint system which mainly comprises a barrier. The Craft barrier divides a forward-facing seating area from a side-facing seating area. The Craft restraint system also includes a wheelchair attachment assembly for anchoring the wheelchair and retractable lap belts which mount to the legs of the barrier. The Craft restraint system further comprises a shoulder belt which mounts to a sidewall of the bus. For other examples of prior art wheelchair restraint systems, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,103,934; 6,113,325; 6,428,254; 6,524,039; and 6,966,733.
While the prior art systems may be successful in providing a wheelchair restraint solution for transit vehicles, a number of pressing problems remain with the prior art securement technology. For example, while many of the prior art systems include shoulder belts, the shoulder belt assemblies of the prior art are adapted to be mounted to a sidewall of the transit vehicle. This arrangement requires substantial labor to install in a transit vehicle; not only must the transit vehicle manufacturer mount the barrier to the floor, the manufacturer must also mount the shoulder belt to the wall. This two-step installation process can also be complicated by the layout of the transit vehicle. In some cases, wall space may not be available for the shoulder belt assembly in the area selected for the wheelchair securement system. This could happen if the area selected to be the wheelchair restraint area is not aligned with a pillar between windows. As a result, the prior art systems limit the number of possible seating configurations for a bus.
Furthermore, the prior art barriers include belt retractors which are usually attached to the legs of the barrier. The prior art belt retractors stick outwardly from the barrier and, as such, encroach into an area which otherwise could be occupied by seated or standing passengers when not utilized by wheelchair passengers and present a tripping hazard.